Volleyball is a sport in which the playing ball is manipulated entirely with the hands and arms during a game. The position and placement of the hands and arms when making contact with the ball are critical to ensuring that the ball is aimed where intended. Ideally, when returning or “passing” the ball during play, the hands are held together, with the fingers entwined and the thumbs pressed together to form a flat surface on the outer palmar surface of the hands and a “platform” on the lower part or ventral side of the arms with which to hit or pass the ball. If the thumbs, arms, or body stance are not precisely positioned, the ball can bounce off the thumb-hand surface or the arm platform and go in the wrong, or a less than ideal, direction. A precisely formed and directed platform will address the volleyball at a 90° angle, or dead straight on, so that the ball leaves the platform in a direction that is 90° relative to the platform. Players can spend hours practicing the correct stance, hand placement, arm placement and force necessary to properly return or place a ball. While the slightest error in arm or hand placement can misdirect the ball, the error in form can be difficult to determine.
Players practice the technique of “hold on target,” which is holding position for a short period after a ball is hit so ball direction and body stance can be correlated. This can also help develop the “muscle memory” necessary to repeat the proper form. Learning the muscle memory necessary to achieve the proper body placement during play can take hours of practice just hitting a ball and often finding the perfect form is the result of trial and error. There is no method or device that can indicate to a player immediately when his or her form is correct. Such a device or method would allow players to practice more efficiently and learn the muscle memory necessary to achieve the proper form for accurate ball placement during play.
There are devices and garments available that can be worn on one or both of the arms to provide protection during practice. Some of these even have targets on them that can help players learn where to contact the ball with the arms. But, these may not be adequate for teaching formation of a proper platform and body stance. Current practice techniques and devices still require players to spend hours hitting a ball in order to improve their skill.